


city of stars

by protectmichaelmell



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: David is struggling musician au, F/M, Gwen is a pop star au, NOT MAXVID, New York City AU, bartender! david, max is fifteen au, musician! david, popstar!gwen, teacher! david
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-07-24 23:37:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16185563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectmichaelmell/pseuds/protectmichaelmell
Summary: Gwen was famous, to say the least. She was a 7x platinum grammy winner. She knew she had it all. Except for a boyfriend, of course.While in New York City recording a movie, she meets a nervous bubbly bartender who doesn’t know about her at all.How bad would it be she kept her hollywood persona hidden?





	1. one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys so i'm gonna do something crazy which is write multiple stories at the same time. today i wrote another chapter of "a place i know that's tucked away" and a story called "way with words" and i have a list of good ideas so let's see how this works. anyways i love nyc (ofc its in two of my fics) and popstar!gwen is something i love a lot. so please enjoy the first story of city of stars!

Gwen was famous to say the least. She was a 7x platinum Grammy winner who had it all. Except a boyfriend. She could have had one, though. Multiple men come over and try to flatter her, but she would always find herself unsatisfied. 

Gwen was tired of the same music industry bullshit. She would drop an album in January, sweep through award season and tour during the summer. Then she would write September through November, and record through December. It gets tiring after seven years.

Gwen was laying on her bed, staring at ceiling. She tossed a purple stress ball up in the air. She watched and breathed quietly. Up. Down. Up. Down.

Her phone buzzed on her pillow, but she didn't want to reach for it. She heard it ring again. And again. On the fourth ring, Gwen lifted her arm up and answered. 

“What’s up?” She asked, and she heard her manager groan. “Why didn’t you answer the first 90 times I called you?” Gwen rolled her eyes. “A. You only called three times before I answered this one. B. I was busy.” She squeezed the stress ball with her unoccupied hand. 

“Ok, Gwen. I have a job for you, though you’ll have to relocate. It’s a movie. You would have to film in New York-” Gwen felt a smile grow across her cheeks as she squealed. “Colette, that’s amazing!” Gwen could basically see Colette twirling her hair through the phone . “I’m a pretty great manager. Wanna know what it’s about?” 

“Yes, definitely!” Gwen stood up from her bed, and did a small victory dance. It was personally so embarrassing that she did that, but Gwen knew she would never stop.

“It’s about a girl who moves to New York to be in a broadway show, and all that sappy bs. She meets a guy who’s a playwright and she uses him to get into his show. She eventually falls for him, though. And he figures out but still loves her. A24 is producing it. You’ll be set for oscar season.”

Gwen looked back at her guitar that was hanging on the wall. “Am I done music forever now, I guess?” Colette let out a laugh. “If you’re a great actress, maybe. If not, you’re back on tour with Ed Sheeran.” Gwen sighed. 

“Gwen, Princess.” Colette cooed, voice light. “You hate music now. You’ve already done and seen it all. It’s time for something new!” Gwen stared through her window at the hollywood hills below her.

“Yeah. You’re right. When does filming start?” Colette paused for a moment. “Tomorrow?” Gwen’s eyes widened. “What?! I need to pack and-” Colette immediately cut her off. “I’m on my way over to catch our flight. Just ask Amelia to pack it up and I’ll get Hadley to fly it out to you.” Gwen bent over and grabbed the suitcase under her bed.

“You’re a mess. Why couldn’t you have told me atleast, i don’t know, two days in advance?” Colette laughed. “My uber is here! I’ll be at your house in fifteen!” Gwen was speechless. “Colette-” The line was dead.

Gwen paced around her room for a second. She was filled with excitement, anxiety and joy. She hated Los Angeles. It was just too much for her. There were so many parties and conferences, and a whole load of “influencers.”

There was a knock at her door. How could Colette already be there? She walked over and opened it to see Amelia, her assistant. “Hi, so Colette just called me. I can get all of your clothes together tonight and have- have um, what’s Colette’s assistant again?” Gwen shrugged. “Hayden? Hannah? Oh! Hadley!” Amelia nodded, and wrote it down on her clipboard. “Got it. Hadley.”

“Anyways,” Amelia continued. “Ashton is here. He says he needs to talk to you.” Gwen pursed her lips. “Sure, tell him I’m up here.” Amelia nodded again, and disappeared downstairs. Gwen threw a few shirts and skirts in her suitcase, collected some shoes and makeup and zipped the bag.

“Hey, Gwen.” Gwen turned around to see Ashton, standing at her doorway. “What do you need me for?” Gwen asked, voice sharp. “I wanted to know if we were still on tonight? I gotta fly home tomorrow, and maybe you would wanna come?” Gwen strongly avoided eye contact.

“I can’t. I’m flying to New York in like, 30 minutes.” Ashton’s mouth dropped. “Why didn’t you tell me?” He asked, voice small. “I had no clue about it until like 5 minutes ago, so we’re both victims here.” Gwen grabbed her backpack off a chair in the corner of the room, and slid her laptop in. She hoped she wasn’t forgetting anything else.

“You’ve been kinda weird lately. Distant might be the word? The last few weeks have been weird. It’s been two years and we haven’t done anything special.” He mumbled. Gwen simply stared at the floor. “You’re not my boyfriend, Ashton. We’ve known each other for two years.” Ashton let out a sour laugh.

“I’ve asked you out on six different occasions! And everytime you’ve just switched the subject!” Gwen picked at the fading nail polish on her fingers. “Look, don’t take it personal. Commitment isn’t my thing.” Ashton clenched his jaw. “I said I love you last week!” Gwen ran her fingers through her hair. “I didn’t though!”

“I bought you a dog! Where is she, anyway?” Gwen bit her lip. “I gave her to Amelia.” Ashton silently stared at her for a moment. “Who’s Amelia?” 

“My assistant. Or my best friend, you could say.” Gwen bragged as Ashton rubbed at his temples. “Last week, it was Megan. The week before it was Caroline.” Gwen bit at her lip again. “Thinking about it, maybe I gave the dog to Megan.”

Ashton sighed. “Bye, Gwen. Have fun in New York.” He walked out, as Gwen sat on her bed. One thing everyone in Hollywood knew about Gwen was her friendships. They were hard for her to maintain with her trust issues, and a lot of people found it unflattering. 

Gwen would have loved for Ashton to be her boyfriend. It was just that Gwen didn’t wanna spill her fucked up on him. She grabbed her stress ball and laid back down on the bed. She slowly watched again. Up. Down. Up. Down.

There was a loud honk from outside, and Gwen knew exactly who it was.

-

New York City was weird for Gwen. It was colder, there was a lot of people pushing through constantly and there was never was time to stop. A world like that freaked Gwen out. She loved living her slow and hot life. 

It was early November, so the chill was just starting to begin. Gwen thought it would be a great idea to just wear a skirt and sweater. She was slowly figuring out how awful it was, mainly with heels involved. 

Colette grabbed Gwen’s hand and pulled her down the brightly lit street of Broadway. “Come on, Gwen. Can’t you show happiness for once?” Gwen flatly laughed. “I am very happy with my life.” Gwen accidentally bumped into someone, and she immediately unlatched from Colette’s grip. “Oh my god. I am so sorry.” Gwen yammered as the person turned out. The first thing they did was scream.

“Oh my god! It’s Gwen! Mom, look! Gwen is here!” Gwen felt color flood her cheeks, and Colette pushed her closer to the mother and daughter. “Would you like a picture?” Colette asked as the girl nodded furiously. “Of course! This is going right on my Instagram!” 

Gwen plastered on the best smile she could. The time zones were starting to fuck with her. More and more people started to flood over, and Gwen felt her heartbeat increase. With her being a celebrity and all, she expected her anxiety to ease up a little. It didn’t. At all.

Colette must have saw the fear on Gwen’s face, because once the girl took the picture, Colette grabbed Gwen’s hand. The crowd seemed to follow until they reached the apartment building. The lobby smelled like coffee, and it made Gwen anxious. She hated coffee. 

“Well, this is my final stop. Your room number is 34-T. Your new assistant is already up there.” Colette hugged Gwen, and disappeared into the crowd of teenagers, only being blocked out by three security guards. ‘Weird.’ Gwen thought. ‘Why are they already in my room?’

Gwen took the elevator all the way up to the nineteen floor, which scared her. She had no clue why her anxiety was peaking today. ‘34-T. 34-T.” She mumbled, looking down the endless hallway. 

She finally saw the door number carved into a piece of wood, and let out a sigh of relief. Gwen opened the door to see a beautifully decorated apartment that showed the nighttime New York Skyline. On her couch, there was a man laying down with his feet on the armrest. His eyes were glued to his phone, not even seeing Gwen come in.

“Hello?” She asked, as his eyes turned to see her. He saw her and immediately jumped off the couch. “Jesus Christ! I mean, fuck! Hi.” He slipped his phone in his back pocket. “I’m Liam. You must be the amazing Gwen.” Liam stuck his hand out to her and she politely accepted.

“This place is really fucking tight.” Liam announced with a laugh. Gwen was silent for a second. Liam’s smile faded and he stared at the floor. “I’m sorry.” He uttered. Gwen laughed. “You’re right, though. This place is really fucking tight.”

Liam’s smile reappeared. “I know! I’m actually trying not to geek out right now. I’ve been such a big fan of you since I was like, eighteen. I’m pretty sure that Fireplace music video with shirtless Brendon Urie was my sexual awakening.” Gwen smiled. “That’s awesome.”

Liam took her suitcase and showed her the room she was going to stay in. Gwen tried to make sure her jaw didn’t drop. “This place is actually gorgeous.” She felt a smile spill across her cheeks. “You’re so lucky you get to live here. I’d die to. I live in a shitty one bedroom apartment.”

“That’s how everyone starts. It’s what I stayed in when I moved to L.A.” Liam sighed. “It’s hard being a broadway actor though. They have a type, and I haven’t been able to match up to anything.” 

“Don’t worry about it! There’s always so many opportunities.” Liam bit the hangnail that was falling off his pointer finger. “You’re from the city of stars! I’m from the city of pizza and rats!” Gwen softly laughed. Today was gonna be the day she learned to make friends. “Do you wanna grab a drink?” Liam giggled to himself.

“Yes, oh my god. Yes. Definitely.” Gwen grabbed her wallet out of her backpack and listened to Liam mumbling ‘oh my god i’m getting drinks with the real life gwen oh my god’ under his breath.

-

“I’m gonna be honest. New York is actually pretty great. There’s always cheap shit everywhere. I’m not even sure this is a real iphone. I bought it off some vendor for 39.90. Works fine though.” Liam rambled as Gwen studied the buildings of New York. 

“Oh, also I called the bar ahead. They’re gonna do V.I.P until you get there.” Gwen rolled her eyes. “You didn’t have to do that.” Liam shrugged. “I am your assistant or whatever.”

They made it to a bar that read “Bar SixtyFive” on a black granite slate. Liam continued to babble on about how this was the best bar in the city, and even on the elevator started to talking to a random person about if he could talk to an executive advisor at NBC.

The lobby was packed, and was filled with many angry tourists that weren't allowed in because of a ‘private party.’ The security guard led Gwen and Liam through, causing a roar through the crowd. People started screaming Gwen’s name and tried touching her.

“Hey! Back off!” Liam barked as Gwen smiled to herself. She’d never actually liked any of her assistants on the first day as much as Liam. They always ended up leaving because Gwen would ask for such stupid stuff. 

The room was slightly empty, some people sitting at booths or the small tables around the room.”Gwen, I’ll meet you at the bar in a second. My old boss is here and I wanna tell him to suck my dick.” Gwen laughed. “Are you legit?” Liam shook his head. “Nope. He scares me. I’ll be right over though.” 

Gwen walked over at sat at the completely empty bar. Gwen saw bartenders huddle around and giggle, but just decided to ignore it. “Hello.” Gwen looked up at the soft voice. “How are you tonight?” The voice belonged to a man with auburn hair and gentle green eyes. “I’m great. How are you doing?” 

Gwen looked to see the bartenders that were giggling now stone faced. They continued to stare, but now with anger. “I’m alright actually.” Gwen nodded. “That’s good.” The bartender smiled at her. “What can I get you tonight?” 

Gwen tapped at the bar’s fine finish. “I’ll take a manhattan on the rocks please.” He flashed her another smile and disappeared to make the drink. Gwen turned around to look for Liam, and saw him sitting down with an old man. He looked like was making very grotesque faces as the old man just seemed to be quite confused.

The bartender returned back. “Here you go!” He handed Gwen the drink, as she immediately took a sip. “Holy shit.” She laughed. “That’s really fucking good.” Gwen watched as the bartender’s cheeks lit up. 

“Really? I was just about to apologize because I thought it would be terrible.” He babbled as Gwen smiled. “No, it’s really great.” The bartender rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve been super stressed out tonight.”

Gwen lifted her cup a little. “I’ll drink to that.” The bartender let out a nervous laugh. “My manager told us that there was a special celebrity coming in tonight. Her name is Gwen, I think? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of her.”

Gwen choked on her drink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys the thing that makes this story so funny to me is how oblivious david is to everything, a la what we learned in cult camp. thank u for reading ! leave some comments n kudos if you want !


	2. chapter two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen begins questioning how’s she gonna pull this off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi !! so i reposted this because there was multiple errors in this chapter (aka david calling gwen by her real name) because i posted it at one a.m listening to a mbmbam podcast. love those boys but mmmmm i was so shook over the new camp camp i wasn’t thinking straight. so here’s this newly edited chapter ! chapter three coming out tomorrow ! enjoy !

“Oh my god, are you alright?” The bartender shrieked as Gwen coughed for a moment.

“Yes! I’m fine.” She took a deep breath and thought about what she was going to say. “It’s just that I’m a really huge fan of Gwen. She’s a great singer.” The bartender flashed her a grin. “I might have to look her up.” Gwen’s heart tightened.

“You don’t have to do that!” She might have come off a little loud as the bartender gave her a confused look. “She’s not that good.” Gwen pondered her thoughts for a moment. What was she doing? This guy had to be joking. How was he that oblivious?

“I’ll take your word for that.” The bartender hit her with another soft smile. She felt her insides turn to honey. Gwen had never felt that way before. Was her drink spiked? “I don’t think I ever got your name? I’m David.” Gwen’s mind raced. “I’m, uh, Grace.”

“Grace. I like that name.” One of the other bartenders came up behind David, and tapped his back. “Uh, David. Cameron needs you in the kitchen real quick.” She whispered as David nodded. “Got it!” He exclaimed and Gwen slowly watched him disappear.

“Can I get you anything?” The woman asked Gwen, who was currently daydreaming. “I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure David’s got me covered.” She flashed the woman a small smile. The woman crossed her arms and laughed. “God, he’s a mess. I’m pretty sure he’s getting screamed at right now. Earlier tonight he spilled red wine all over this lady in a white pantsuit. David’s actually an idiot.” Gwen had an instinct to yell at this woman. “I can just tell him that you wanted me instead?”

“I’m actually fine, thank you. He makes good drinks.” Gwen mumbled, looking at the drink she had in her hand. The woman scoffed, and started to walk away. “It’s practically the only thing keeping him here.” Gwen rolled her eyes, and took another sip of her drink. ‘David.’ She uttered to herself. ‘David with the green eyes.’

“Yo! I just told that old dick to fuck off!” Gwen prayed that wasn’t David. Liam sat himself next to Gwen, and grabbed her hand. “I was just all ‘oh I don’t need your internship anymore! i’m working for the famous gwen!’ And oh my god, he was all ‘liam you’re an idiot!” So then I started crying.”

Gwen squeezed Liam’s hand. “You’re absolutely hilarious.” Liam looked at her and let out another squeal. “The real Gwen just called me hilarious! Am I dead? I think I’m dead.” Liam wheezed, nearly falling off the barstool. Gwen looked up and saw David, staring down Liam.

“Oh, this must be your boyfriend.” David mumbled, pulling on the edge of his apron. “Oh no! No no! This is just my roommate, Liam.” Gwen pinched Liam’s leg softly. “Oh, wonderful! What can I get you to drink?” Liam played with his phone, pulling the jelly case on and off. “Just a Bloody Mary for me, please.”

David nodded, and grabbed Gwen’s cup. “I’ll get you a refill, Grace.” Gwen looked at Liam, who was trying to keep his mouth from dropping to the floor. “I’d love that.” She felt her eyes click with David’s, and that honey feeling took over her insides again.

He walked away and Liam began to laugh hysterically. “Holy shit! What are you doing to that poor twink? Is he blind?” Gwen tapped on the bar. “Look, he has no clue who I am. So I may or may not have told him my name is Grace.” Liam rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Wow.”

“I haven’t been looked at like a normal person in so long. It feels really good without someone trying to constantly please me or scream to take a picture with me.” Liam groaned. “Do you know how risky this is, Gwen? It’s inevitable he’ll figure it out, and you’ll be fucked when he does!”

Gwen twirled a strand of hair on her finger. “I know. But he’s just, so sweet!” Liam’s eyes lit up. “Oh my god! You like him!”

Gwen put her fingers to his lips. “Shush! I barely know him! We literally haven’t had a solid conversation.” Liam was going to say something, but was cut off by David. “Here are your drinks! Sorry they took so long! Just a small holdup at the bar station!” Liam smiled at Gwen. “Thank you so much!”

David’s eyes glistened and Gwen felt her cheeks flush as red as a strawberry. “Do you just bartend, David?” Gwen asked as David shrugged. “No. I work as a teacher’s aid during the day, but I wasn’t really meeting ends with that. So, I got a second job here.” Gwen slowly stirred the straw in her drink. If he works with kids, there was literally no doubt they talked about Gwen. How did he not know?

“What do you do?” He asked, as Gwen pressed her finger to the glass cup. “I’m a interior designer.” That was the one job Gwen wanted to do earlier this year. Start a whole seasonal decoration line. Her idea got shot down, so she figured this was her chance.

“That is so much fun! What do you decorate?” Gwen wished she had more nail polish to pick off, but almost all of her nails were naked. “Just houses and such. I want to work on set design next.” Liam laughed to himself, but David was wide-eyed.

“That is so amazing! I bet you’re absolutely amazing at it!” Gwen shrugged. “I guess.” Liam cleared his throat. “It’s quite a wide jump. I’m a actor, so I would know.” He interjected as David smiled. “Oh my! What show are you in?” Gwen was ready to push Liam off the chair. She was gonna murder him he messed this up.

“Actually, I’m in Dear Evan Hansen. Evan, actually.” David’s smile grew. “I just saw that show a few nights ago! You were incredible.” Gwen was basically restraining herself from tackling Liam. “Thanks.” Liam proudly proclaimed.

Gwen was gonna continue the small talk when scream was heard at the entrance of the bar. “Oh my god! Is that Gwen?!” A voice screamed. Gwen turned away from the door and laughed. “Hopefully I don’t have to wait on whoever Gwen is! I think my shift is over in like 10 minutes because I’m a ‘distraction to others in a restaurant setting’ and a ‘inconvenience to customers’!” Gwen felt guilt fill her chest.

“I heard about your little red wine accident.” Gwen saw color flood David’s cheeks. “How did you know about that? It was just an accident! I didn’t see that purse!” Gwen giggled, and brushed her hand against David’s. “I was just kidding. Don’t worry about it.”

Liam stared at Gwen and David again, and gagged. “Gross! I’ll see you back at the apartment, Grace.” He uttered as Gwen pursed her lips together. He was a pretty good actor.

“What are you doing after work, David? I mean it’s only 9:30.” Gwen saw David grow a worried expression as he looked at his watch. “I don’t think I have anything important. I have to be at school tomorrow at nine, though.”

Gwen had the urge to kiss David. It might have been the obvious sexual tension between the two, with the small talk and Gwen brushing her hand, but she decided against it. “I’ll get you home before midnight.”

A large man walked over to David and patted his back. “Davey, you’re off the floor. I’m sure you have to get home to Max.” David shyly smiled as the man looked at Gwen. “Is he treating you okay?”

“Yes.” The man disappeared as David sighed. “I always get off first. Because apparently my ‘attitude is disgustingly positive’ and my son stays home at night.” Gwen checked David’s finger for a wedding ring. He had to be younger than 27, but then his son had to be old enough to stay at home by himself. “You have a son?”

“Yup! He’s my pride and joy!” David radiated happiness. “Aww, that’s adorable. How old is he?” David pulled a picture out of his apron. It was of David and a boy with curly black hair, who was frowning. David was smiling but the young boy seemed miserable.

“He’s fifteen. He was actually the reason why I had to get another job. When I adopted him, I slowly figured out feeding two mouths was harder than feeding one.” Gwen gave him a toothless grin. “That’s adorable.”

“David!” The woman bartender from earlier screamed. “You left all your money in the sink for some weird ass reason, so I just did it for you. Literally just get the fuck out of here.” David let out a nervous laugh, and started walking over. “Language.” He mumbled taking the money from her, obviously embarrassed. “How are you still working here?!”

Gwen handed a $50 to David once he returned. “Here’s for my drinks, and Liam’s.” David shook his head. “I already put it on my own tab. Don’t worry about it.” Gwen already felt too terrible for lying, so she couldn’t let David buy her drinks. She slid the $50 in his apron. “For Max.”

After they stared at each other for a moment, reality hit her like a train. How was she going to get out of this bar without getting mobbed. Everyone outside knew Gwen was in there, so most likely paparazzi was ready to attack. “Hey, is there a back way we can get out? There’s so many people at the entrance, and I don’t want to get pushed around.” David looked around the room.

“Yes. There is a back staircase that leads to an alley. We could go that way?” He asked, as Gwen agreed. She would have said yes to anything that didn’t mean her being exposed to David. Gwen wondered why she so fixated on David, one of the first men she laid her eyes on. She felt warm near him though, like he was a soft summer day and she was an ice cube.

Gwen followed David to a door that read ‘employees only’, which made her slightly anxious. “Are you sure I’m allowed to use these?” David opened the door and began to walk. “Positive. You’re with me, and they're stairs. They are supposed to be stepped on.”

The first few flights were flirty and cute, but then it managed to get exhausting and hotter. After exactly 29 flights of stairs, they reached the bottom. The city’s night air was a drastic change from the hot staircase. Gwen turned to look at the entrance of the bar, which was completely mobbed. There was at least 500 people outside, and it was a weekday.

Gwen was suddenly filled with doubt. ‘This is so fucking stupid.’ She thought, pulling at a loose string at the sleeve of her sweater. ‘I’m gonna get caught and it’s just gotta go to shit.’ Gwen felt her body shiver, and the goosebumps grow on her legs. What was she thinking wearing a skirt?

“Are you alright?” David asked as Gwen quickly looked away from the crowd. “Yes. Just it makes me anxious for whoever Gwen is. That’s so many people out there.” David rocked on his heels and led Gwen down the opposite side of the alley. “It may be extremely stressful but you’re not Gwen. You’re Grace and you don’t have to worry about all of those people.” Gwen was going to pass out.

“You’re right.” She crossed her arms and felt her teeth chatter. “Here, take my jacket. You must be freezing.” David put the jacket over Gwen’s shoulders, and Gwen embraced it. She noticed David had this scent of strong lavender and a mix of pine.

Gwen loved it. It smelled like home. “I actually just moved to the city.” Gwen stared at her shoes, and kicked some small rocks around in the alley. “I found Liam on the internet and we became really close, which led to us moving in together.”

“I love it here. I’ve been living here since I was eighteen. I went to school here and everything. It’s been my dream city for ages. It’s super cheesy but it makes me feel safe here.” Gwen’s heart melted into her stomach.

“That’s sweet. Since you know it so well, do you wanna show me around?” Gwen felt David’s hand intertwine with her own. “Yes, let’s go!” The endless alley finally led to a street, and they disappeared around the corner.

-

It was 12:32 a.m when David and Gwen ended up outside Gwen’s apartment. “Wow, this is one of the best apartment buildings in the city.” Gwen couldn’t stay focused because she was so content looking around for fans showing up behind her.

“Yeah, it’s super nice. Are you sure you’ll be okay getting home yourself?” David nodded. “Yes. I will. Have a nice night, Grace.” Out if the corner of her eye, Gwen saw a group of people with large canon cameras. “Hey, David. I’ll call you tomorrow. Okay?”

“Yes. I will answer.” He laughed, and almost faced the cameras. Gwen did the only reasonable thing, which was to grab David and kiss him. “One more thing, David!” He turned around and Gwen wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips on his.

She was able to position him in a way that the cameras wouldn’t get his face in, but Gwen heard the faint clicks in the distance. “Goodnight, David.” She whispered, kissing his cheek. Gwen walked into the apartment lobby and let out a sigh.

As she stood in the elevator to her room, she felt the butterflies still in her chest. Gwen felt so focused on making sure the camera didn’t get a picture of David, she didn’t even get to indulge herself in the kiss.

That just meant she had to do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u for reading ! feel free to comment anything u want (i adore comments ! they make me smile hehe) and leave some kudos if u want ! have a nice day/night :)


	3. three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen’s first day with the director of her new movie does not go as well as she hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiiiiii guys ! enjoy chapter three of city of stars. i’m literally in the middle of writing the next chapters in my two others fics (way with words n there’s a place i know thats tucked) but i’m just obsessed with this fic!

“Lovesick in the Big Apple! Popstar Gwen is seen with random redhead on her first day in New York City with speculation of a new movie. We can’t wait to hear a new song about this handsome stranger!” 

Gwen shut her phone off and tossed it on the floor. Stupid twitter. It wasn’t even seven a.m yet! Of course with her like ‘#whoisrr’ was trending, which most likely stood for ‘random redhead. 

To say Gwen enjoyed her night with David was an understatement. It was the only time she’d been looked at as a person instead of a celeb in almost ten years. The thought of her kissing him replayed over and over in her head, her heart straining each time.

Gwen knew it was wrong since she just met him, but she’d rather be slightly embarrassing than have flashing cameras come up to her and scare the shit out of David. Gwen knew if she kissed him that the paparazzi would be pleased, and would leave her alone. They already had their headline. 

For the 5 minutes Gwen wasn’t on her phone, it was exploding with notifications. Texts from Amelia about her clothes shipping in, phone calls from Colette and one voicemail. It was from Ashton.

Gwen pulled a loose string out of her pajama pants and put it between her teeth. She gently tugged on it with her free hand and took a deep breath before listening to Ashton’s voicemail. 

“Hey Gwen. I checked Twitter this morning and I saw you frenching some ginger-“ The string snapped and Gwen started to scratch at her neck. David was a redhead sure, but it definitely wasn’t light enough to call it ginger. “And it bothers me that you don’t care. At all. You have such a fucking pisspoor attitude and it’s sad. It’s genuinely makes me sad. And I don’t even feel bad for you. I pity you and your genuine insanity. Make up your mind, Gwen. Call me.”

Gwen’s fingers shaked over her phone for a second. She felt hot tears come to her eyes. This is exactly what she feared. She tapped the screen as a tear hit the glass. “Hello?” A voice answered, grogginess obviously present. 

“Hi. Did I wake you up?” The voice on the line laughed. “It’s not a problem, Grace.” Gwen’s eyes looked at the time. 5:15. She was running on 2 hours of sleep, anxiety sitting in her stomach like a rock. Gwen worried about the paparazzi and Ashton and everything in between. David’s voice felt comforting to her.

“You must be exhausted, I’m so sorry.” She felt her heartbeat increase. Was she losing her mind? Why did she call him at 5 a.m? Gwen internally slapped herself in the face. This was a major turnoff, probably. Gwen probably seemed like some insane stalker.

“Nope. I usually wake up at six. It gives me some time to get Max all ready for school and myself mentally prepared.” David’s morning voice was a tad bit attractive to Gwen. It was raw and husky, and made Gwen feel like jelly. She considered saying something, but she knew that would be crazy. Gwen even calling David was insane. 

“I just said I’d call you, and I did. I know it’s really weird.” Gwen dug her nails in the rubber on her phone case. “I told you I’d answer.” Gwen was silent for a second. She watched the dent from her fingernail on her phone case disappear, and held back tears in her eyes. “Thank you.” Gwen mumbled, voice obviously shaky.

“Hey, are you crying? Is everything alright?” Concern rose in David’s tone. “Everything is just fine.” Gwen looked at the small bead of blood that formed at the cuticle of her nail. She needed to stop all of the terrible habits she had. They were starting to drain her.

“I know you’re lying, Grace. I’m really good at detecting stuff like that.” The irony stabbed Gwen like a knife. “Huh, are you really?” Gwen playfully asked, wiping a tear from her eye. “Yes. I know you’re sad and just need to talk it out.” Gwen wanted to yell about all of her issues, and cry. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs and sob her eyes out. 

“Hello? You okay?” Gwen swallowed and softly laughed. “Yes.” She heard David yawn and she pouted to herself. This was going to be on her conscience for the rest of the week. She makes this poor guy stay out til 1 a.m and wake him up 4 hours later. “We can talk about it later. Please try to get in a few last minutes of sleep.”

Was Gwen creating a foundation for a solid relationship? Why was she so positive thinking about a ‘later’? “Are you sure? I feel bad.” Gwen tapped on the back of her phone case. “Please don’t. I was literally the weirdo who called you so early in the morning.” David lightly laughed. “I don’t regret it.” Gwen felt overwhelmed with emotions, which is what her therapist warned her about.

“Do you wanna maybe catch dinner and a movie later?” David asked, voice timid. “It’s kinda lame, I know. Max has told me multiple times how boring that is-” Gwen cut him off. “I’d love to. I’ll call you around like 12:30 today, if that’s alright?” Gwen felt like bossiness had overruled her tone so she cleared her throat.  
“More or so, when is your lunch break?”

“You pretty much hit the nail on the head. I’ll think about some places for us to go.” David gushed as Gwen smiled to herself. “I’ll talk to you later. Have a good morning.” She murmured, laying her head down on her pillow. “You too.” Gwen hung up the phone, and stared out her window. 

The lights in some apartments were turning on, the silhouettes of people moving room to room. Gwen looked at her phone. 5:30. Gwen couldn’t believe she kept David on the with her for 15 minutes. Gwen felt happy for the first time in forever. She was going on a date with someone she actually liked.

Gwen’s trance was cut off with her phone ringing. She was so tired of talking, but she couldn’t afford to miss a call from Colette.

“Gwen!” Colette screamed, causing Gwen to jump a little. “Are you awake now?” She questioned as Gwen groaned. “I’ve been up since 3:30. And isn’t in like, 2:30 in the morning in L.A right now?” Colette let out a sharp laugh. “I’m not there. I’m in London.” 

“You literally said you were going back to California to me when you left yesterday.” Gwen recalled, thinking about what the hell was happening right now. “Well, I had a small issue with Daniel Radcliffe. You’re not my only client, you know.” Gwen sighed.

“I’m sorry. It’s been a very on and off night.” Gwen rubbed at her right temple, feeling a headache starting to grow. This is why she hated missing sleep. “Off? I don’t think so. Ask whoever you were all up on last night.” Gwen knew this was coming. “I hate those goddamn stalkers! It’s been trending since like 2 a.m!” 

“I know. It’s 10 here and everyone is talking about it. They're trying to figure out who it is.” Gwen rubbed the back of her neck, shaking slightly. “So tell me who it is, my dearest Gwendolyn! Just give me his headshot and resumé and we can get this PR stunt to be the thing everyone talks about for months! Maybe even until the year ends. There’ll be ‘dates’ and maybe even an engagement at the ball dropping!”

Gwen felt the anxiety that had disappeared will talking to David return. Her throat felt dry and she couldn’t feel the air going to her lungs. “So who is it?” Gwen could hear Colette typing on the other line. “Is it Ed? I know he’s in the city, and another duet would be amazing. Is it that guy from Harry Potter? I’ll ask Daniel about him today!” Gwen tried catching her breath but there was a lump stuck in her throat.

“He’s not a celebrity. His name is David.” Colette’s typing stopped. “Gwen, honey. End it.” Gwen rolled her eyes. “No! He is so nice and so sweet and just a genuinely amazing person!” Gwen hissed, finally reaching her breaking point. “He’s probably just using you for your money! That is why famous has to date famous!” 

“What kind of logic even is that? And I know he’s not using me for my fame.” Gwen mumbled, pulling out another thread of her pajamas bottoms. “Aw, did he say that to you?” Colette barked. “He doesn't fucking know who I am, alright!” Gwen heard Colette gasp.

“Was he in a coma the last ten years?”Colette’s breathing escalated. “He has to be lying to you!” Gwen never thought about that. She weirdly trusted David too much. “I don’t think he is.” Gwen hesitated, tears beginning to well her eyes again. “Because I may have told him a fake name and we have another date tonight?”

“Gwen! Stop trying to live out some normal life fantasy! You wanted to be famous! No one forced you into this!” Colette sneered, slamming the lid of her laptop. “I gotta get ready to go to set, Colette.” Colette groaned. “You better be there at 8:00. Sharp.”

Gwen hung up the phone, then threw it back on the floor. Why did she even agree to film a stupid movie? What exactly was she planning to gain from this? She shouldn’t be having such a horrible time, she’s supposed to be happy and excited. Gwen’s positive attitude decreased after her phone call with Colette, and it made her want to go back to Los Angeles and play the same 20 songs over and over again for the rest of her life.

She decided her best bet was try to get a little sleep. The bedroom felt empty. Even in L.A she felt like she had someone there all the time, either her assistants or managers constantly with her. Gwen felt isolated here. She loved it. She slowly fell asleep to buzz of her notifications echoing of the shag carpet. 

-

“Gwen! You’re gonna be so fucking late!” Gwen felt the covers lifted off of her head, as she rolled onto her stomach. “I’ll just go later.” She grumbled, slowly trying to lift the blanket back up. “Gwen. It’s 7:35. You have to be on set at 8!” Liam nagged, pulling the blanket off the bed. “Liam, how did you get into my house?” Gwen retaliated, words slightly sharp. “I have a key incase shit like this happened! I called you six times and rang the doorbell for like 30 minutes!” 

Gwen sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Also, I can’t believed you hooked up with bar twink.” Liam scoffed. “I did not hook up with him! I kissed him so the paparazzi wouldn’t get a picture of his face!” Gwen moaned, hugging her chest. 

“Get dressed! We have to go! Also, this girl Amelia texted me because that’s another person you ignored this morning. You’re clothes are coming tomorrow.” Liam looked at his phone, and then saw Gwen’s on the floor. “I didn’t get the text.” Gwen lied, knowing she got the text last night. She saw Liam scrolling through phone, and she bounced out of the bed. “Get off that!”

Liam laughed, and moved across the room. “See, that got you up!” He stood on one of the chairs on the opposite of Gwen’s bed. “So you have two missed calls from Colette, four missed calls from someone named Ashton, 13 texts from Amelia and oooh!” Liam named. “One text from David!” Gwen felt anger fill her chest. “Liam! Don’t you dare!” 

Liam cleared her throat and pulled on the front of his jacket. “Hey. I hope you’re doing better this morning. I’m on my way to work now. I’ll talk to you later.” Liam smiled. “That’s so cute!” Gwen corned him and grabbed her phone. “Whatever.” She texted back David ‘ok talk to u then’ and shut her phone off.

“Can you make me a smoothie real quick? Make it peach and mango, please?” Gwen asked, digging through her practically empty suitcase. “Sure, whatever. Not like there’s i don’t know, no food in this place?” Liam muttered, and disappeared from the room.

Gwen saw David’s jacket on the chair that Liam was standing on. She walked over and grabbed it, and threw it over the t-shirt she was wearing. She was angry she only had skirts, so it anyone looking at her would think was just wearing a large black jacket, with only a line of denim sticking out the bottom. She shrugged, and put her hair up in a messy bun. 

Gwen put her toothbrush in her mouth and walked into the kitchen. Liam was blending multiple colored fruits in the blender. “You got a fruit basket!” He screamed, but still managed to be louder than the rattling metal of the blender. Gwen spit into the sink, causing Liam to gag, and read the little note on the basket.

“good luck on your first day on set! xoxo, colette iano, agent at Highlight Management.” Gwen rolled her eyes.  
Colette always set out the same fucking fruit baskets for everything. “good luck recording your album” or “good luck releasing the record”, it always ends in ‘xoxo, colette iano, agent at Highlight Management.’ Colette was nice, but Gwen’s always thought she was fake as hell.

“Gwen, didn’t you pack anything else? Also, what’s your deal with that jacket?” Liam complained, pouring the smoothie into the “highlight management’ tumbler that was in the fruit basket. “I only packed like two outfits. All my clothes should be here when I get back.” Gwen grabbed the smoothie off of Liam. He added pineapple in with the peach and mango, which gave it a slight tang. Or it could have been the toothpaste.

“Why do you smell like a Christmas tree?” Liam teased, grabbing the sleeve of Gwen’s jacket. “Shit! Is that David’s?” Gwen blushed and grabbed her backpack. “Doesn’t matter.” Liam bit his lip to hide a smile. “That’s cute. I love that for you.” He hummed, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “The Uber is here. We gonna go.” 

Gwen followed Liam out of the room, and into the elevator. “I have a date tonight.” Liam sang, pressing the ‘ground’ button on the elevator. “Oh, really?” Gwen asked, checking her phone. She secretly wanted David to text something to her again. “You bet. He’s a entrepreneur. He sells designer light bulbs. Isn’t that amazing?!” 

Gwen slid her phone into the jacket pocket. “Yes, he sounds like a dreamboat.” Liam lightly punched her arm, and Gwen giggled lightly. The elevator door opened and Gwen instantly saw at least a hundred people outside the apartment. Before exiting into the lobby, she grabbed her stress ball out of her backpack. She put it in the jacket’s pocket, and gave it a squeeze. 

“These fucking vultures! What do they want?!” Liam fumed, seeing the fear on Gwen’s face. It wasn’t the people, as she’s played in front of crowds of over a million people and was used to this chaos. It still made made her anxious, but she was more worried about how her date with David was gonna work out. The paparazzi seemed to be everywhere, and she was going to need to figure out a way to avoid it.

Gwen exited the apartment, Liam infront her and two security guards behind her. She took some pictures with a few of them, and even signed four albums. Fans were screaming about who she was kissing last night, and Gwen didn’t want to be rude. “If I’m gonna be honest, the random redhead might have an album about him next.” The crowd screamed, but was muted by the Uber’s closed doors. Gwen learned if she said what the crowd wanted, they’d leave her alone.

Gwen was silent most of the ride, and Liam slowly caught on. “Are you nervous? It’s totally okay if you are.” He cooed, moving closer into Gwen. “I’m alright. Just I’ve never done anything involving film before. Besides like movie soundtracks, I guess.” Liam wrapped his arms around Gwen, and planted her chin on her shoulder. “You’re going to be perfect.”

Gwen sadly smiled, and the uber stopped in front of a tall building. Gwen didn’t want to get out of the car. She felt like she was new student going to first day of school. Her heart pounded as she walked up the building, and stood silently in the elevator. 

“Today is just a table read. You’ll get to know the script and who you’re working with. It’ll be easy.” Liam swore, as Gwen stressfully squeezed the stressball in her pocket. The elevator door opened to a studio with a long table and almost every chair was filled. There was one left, and the name tag ‘GWEN’ sat out on a folded piece of paper. It was 8:35.

“Look who finally shows up, little miss kiss and tell!” A bright voice chirped, making Gwen slightly cringe. A blonde woman stood up, pink lipstick visible from miles away. All of the other cast members just stared at Gwen, or took pictures. “I’m just teasing, babe! My name is Jacqueline Forrest, and I’ll be your costar. I’m your step-sister!” 

Gwen flinched, and squeezed the stress ball the hardest she ever had, surprised it didn’t pop. “Hi. I’m Gwen.” The woman tried to squeeze her arm, but Gwen nonchalantly moved back. “Of course I know who you are! Who doesn’t?” Gwen felt her heart pinch again. 

“You’d think that lemon kiss made 24 million dollars in two months, you’d have better clothes.” Jacqueline taunted, pointing down Gwen’s outfit. “Actually,” Liam chimed in. “All of her clothes are flying in right now.” Jacqueline looked at Liam and let out a tight laugh. “I was just kidding! How about you take a seat, the director will be back soon!” 

Gwen was already humiliated and it was only her first day on set. Stupid fucking Jacqueline. Who even was she? Also, she had to bring up her god damn album sales. Gwen also pondered all of her current album titles, and how they were all fucking stupid. Lemon Kiss? Was she high? What were the other ones? Gwen suddenly felt pressured by all the other eyes in the room. 

Were they all sitting there thinking about her dumb album titles? The first one was just Gwen, which was boring. ‘Self-Titled’ her ass, Gwen thought. Then it was summer sunsets, human, a place for me and you, one for the road, burned out and finally stupid fucking lemon kiss! Those titles were all so lame! Gwen’s off topic rant was cut off by her phone slightly buzzing. It was a text from David.

It was a simple smiley face, but it make her smile too. The room was silent, and Gwen hoped she didn’t say her personal album title rant out loud. She was only running on maybe a solid six hours of sleep, and it was slowly hitting her. 

An older woman came in the room, clipboard in hand and papers flying everywhere. “Hello!” She announced, slamming herself in the swirly chair at the end of the table. “My name is Anastasia Forrest and I will be directing this film!” Gwen sunk into her chair. Of course, her daughter was one the supporting roles. 

“Let’s all thank the famous Gwen for joining the cast of our film! She is literally the only reason why Universal decided to buy this movie!” Gwen bit her lip, and pulled on the sleeve of the jacket. “I thought a24 was producing this movie?” Gwen asked, toes curling in her shoes. She had zero clue what this woman was going to say to her, and it made her heart race.

“Well, they aren’t. Surprise! This is practically charity work for you. But ‘East Connecticut’ is definitely winning over 10 oscars!” Gwen was positive that it definitely was not. “‘East Connecticut’? I thought this movie took place in New York City?” Gwen responded as Anastasia let out a sickly laugh just like her daughters.

“Only for the last 30 minutes. This show is about your character’s sisters tormentation to you the first 18 years of your life and then you move to here! But then you fail, and have to move in with your sister again. Also she’s famous.” Anastasia explained, passing Gwen some of the loose papers on her clipboard. “That is not what I was told? I thought this movie was about me moving to New York, meeting a musician and using him, and then falling in love?” 

Anastasia made a frown at Gwen. “Well, that was the original idea when I contacted Colette earlier week. But Jacqueline was over with music, and wanted to be in a movie. So i reconstructed the whole script overnight and then we ended up with and blasted off!” Gwen rubbed at her temples.

“Are you saying you basically rewrote a whole movie that most likely took over a year to write in 12 hours so you could please your daughter’s stupid needs?” Gwen objected, fingers slowly balling into a fist. “Gwen, you’re not the director. I am. How about helping me hand out the scripts?” 

Gwen wondered how many stories this building was. And questioned what would happen if she front flipped off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed this chapter! leave some kudos and comment!


	4. four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen meets Max. She knew this wasn’t gonna work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys sorry i haven’t posted in a while ! my life has been absolutely insane recently it feels so unreal! sorry for the late update, i was in a daze this week. i met timothée chalamet in nyc this friday and i have been in a fluster since. but enjoy this chapter !

“This is-“ Gwen paused, and reread the line in her head. It was so stupid and made zero sense. “Come on, just finish this line. Then we can break and finish the final 32 scenes.” Gwen believed death was currently better than what she was living through. “This is extremely unfair! I deserved to win homecoming queen for the third time!” Gwen uttered, staring lifelessly at the script. 

“Oh, you’re so selfish!” Jacqueline screamed, voice still in a glass-shattering pitch. Anastasia smiled and closed her notebook. “Excellent!” She rejoiced, swirling around in her chair. “Let’s break, and continue at 1:30.” Gwen rolled her eyes, and pulled her phone out of the jacket pocket. It was 12:25. She could call David in five minutes. 

Liam was standing in the corner, a tea already made for Gwen. “This is horrendous.” Gwen murmured, taking a sip of the tea. “Dear god. That Jacqueline is awful.” Liam whispered. “What even is her role?”

“Beats me.” Gwen shuddered, thinking about Jacqueline’s shrieking voice. “Do you wanna grab food somewhere or something?” Liam looked at the watch on his wrist. “I would love to, but Anastasia told me no one leaves the building. You probably won’t get out of here until seven.” 

Gwen’s mouth dropped. “Why so late?” Liam crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “That’s the acting business, babe.” Gwen felt her phone buzzing in the jacket. “Shit, David is calling me. I’m gonna go camp out in the bathroom. If anyone asks where I am, I’m on the floor below this one getting snacks. I guess from a vending machine?” 

Liam sighed. “Sure. Go answer your current boy toy.” Gwen stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed an apple off the craft services table. She took a deep breath and hit the green answer button on her phone. “Hello?” 

Gwen slid into the bathroom, and hid in one of the stalls. “Hey! I just got on my break. It’s been a long morning.” David quipped, voice sounding healthier than it was earlier. “I feel you on that one.” Gwen muttered, taking a bite of the apple. It was hard as a rock. She opened the stall door and tossed in the trash can. 

“So, How has your interior designing been?” David asked, as Gwen heard children whispering in the background. “Do you have kids in the room with you right now?” Gwen questioned with a laugh, then balancing herself on the toilet so she wouldn’t fall of. In her head, she realized how stupid it was to call David in the bathroom. Why didn’t she actually just go to the floor below this one?

“Yeah, I have lunch detention duty today. One second.” David cleared his throat. “Kids, be quiet please. This is supposed to be a punishment.” Gwen heard them laugh over the phone. “Whatever.” She heard a student chime in as David sighed. “Sorry about that.” 

“No it’s totally fine. I can go if you need to watch them.” Gwen fretted, rubbing the back of her neck. “I promise it’s alright. I’m interested to know what you designed today.” David laughed, as Gwen felt her heart skip a beat. “Well, it was actually terrible.” 

Gwen wondered how she could talk about her fake job, but still focus on her real one. “My manager gave me this whole design for an apartment right? She told me everything that the- uh, couple wanted in the house and how it was supposed to be structured. Then the couple’s daughter got all involved in it, they decided to change everything they planned.” She pondered.

“That’s terrible! Why would she make something that’s supposed to be about her parents about herself?” David questioned as Gwen laughed. “Exactly! Isn’t that the absolute worse?” Gwen heard David to quiet down another one of the kids. She felt like she was interfering his teaching job, which slightly hurt her a little.

“Are you sure you’ve got everything under control?” Gwen stared at the bathroom floor, hand snaking her hand into the jacket’s pocket to grab her stress ball. “I think I have a few minutes. I just wanted to tell you about our date tonight, if that’s still happening. It’s totally up to you though.” Gwen awed at his nervousness, but was a little upset that he didn’t have that much time to talk to her.

“Of course it’s on for tonight! Where were you thinking?” Gwen listened to David rapidly gush about his favorite restaurant in the city. It was a little jazz club on restaurant row with live music and everything. Gwen thought it was absolutely adorable how passionate he was.

“So I guess I can pick you up at your apartment at 7:30 tonight?” Gwen bit her lip. She didn’t really want David to see the inside of her apartment. She thought how much he’d question a second string broadway actor and a interior designer could afford something like that. It was too risky. “I could meet you at your place?” 

“That would be wonderful! I’ll send you my address! Sadly, I’ve got to go. I am not being a good detention teacher right now. I’ll see you tonight, Grace.” Gwen overheard “who’s Grace, davey?” and “they’re called disciplinarians, asshole.” 

“See you later, alligator.” Gwen giggled, then stopping because she regretted it and thought it was so stupid. “Alligator?” David questioned as Gwen rolled her eyes. “Your supposed to say ‘in a while crocodile’.” Gwen muttered, embarrassed. “Well then, in a while crocodile.”

She hit end call and sighed. What was seriously the only conversation she was going to have with David until 7:30? Gwen kicked the stall door and opened it to see Jacqueline leaning against one of sinks. “Who’s David?” She asked, giving Gwen a strong stink eye.

“Oh, he’s just a friend. From California. Definitely not from New York City.” Gwen mumbled, staring at the ground. “Oh, are you sure it’s not the mystery redhead you were caught snogging last night?” Gwen rubbed the back of her neck, and stared at the floor. “No. It’s not.” 

Jacqueline continued to glare at Gwen. “Look, I know you think you’re the shit. You’re some Hollywood bitch musician that rolled up in New York, thinking she’s gonna skyrocket in the movie business. The only thing you’re doing is making an idiot out of yourself being here. Go home, Gwen.” Gwen rapidly squeezed the stress ball in her pocket. 

She thought about tossing it in the air and watching it. That always calmed her. Up. Down. Up. Down. “Are you going to say anything or just stare at the ground?” Jacqueline snarled. “God, celebrities are so fucking weird in real life. I’m gonna just tell my mom I caught you doing a line of coke in here.” Gwen’s eyes widened. “Please don’t.”

Jacqueline let out a snarky laugh. “I won’t! Or will I? I won’t! Or will I!” She opened the door, waved at Gwen and left. Gwen knew she right. Gwen was making an idiot of herself. But Gwen would make sure Jacqueline didn’t know she was right. Gwen exited the bathroom with the biggest smile, trying her hardest to show that she was dying on the inside. 

-

“And that is why I should’ve respected my sister.” Gwen rasped, after reading the last line of the script. It was 6:32. She’d spent her whole day reading a shitty script for a more shitty movie. “Okay, guys! Be here tomorrow at 9:00!” Anastasia applauded, giving Jacqueline a side hug. Jacqueline had been glaring at Gwen all day after the whole bathroom incident. Gwen had been trying to act positive since.

“Today has been insane. I’ve got to get to my date by 8.” Liam hissed, grabbing Gwen’s hand. “Are you okay?” Gwen asked, waving a goodbye to one of the crew people she’d made some small talk with. Too bad since a good person was working on such an awful movie. “Yes, just stressed. Anastasia just really fucking pisses me off. Also, isn’t your date with David in like an hour?”

Gwen tried not to smile. David was the only thing she had been thinking about all day. “I have to meet him at his house.” Liam looked at his phone for the uber that was already outside, and angrily hit the elevator buttons. “You don’t want to scare him with that huge ass apartment you have.” 

Gwen sighed. “I know. If he comes over, I’ll say we won the lottery one day.” Liam smirked at Gwen. “Are you thinking of creating a committed relationship?” Gwen felt color rush to her cheeks. “Um, no.” Liam laughed a little, and opened the car door for Gwen. 

“You said ‘if he comes over’ though!” He squealed. “That means you think there will be a time where he comes over!” Gwen rolled her eyes. “Shut it. Don’t you have a date tonight too?” Liam looked out the window and sighed. “Sadly.” 

“You were so excited this morning!” Gwen elbowed him playfully. “I know, but I wanna follow you and David. I want to see if he realizes who you are.” Gwen felt her stomach twist. “Don’t even fucking say that.” Liam poked Gwen’s cheek. “Okay, sweetheart.”

The uber pulled up in front of Gwen’s apartment and she blew Liam a kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smirked, as Liam gave her a short wave. “Have fun on your date!” Liam screeched, causing Gwen to slam the door on his face. 

She walked up to the apartment as a group of three kids on skateboards almost ran into her. “Hey watch it!” She yelled as one of the them hopped of their board. “Hey, are you famous? I think you’re face is on some billboard around here.” He snarled, pushing the hair out of his eyes. Gwen looked at the clock on her phone. She didn’t have time for this.

“Yes. Do you want a picture or something?” The boy shrugged. “Nope. Just wanted to tell you whatever you do most likely sucks!” He got back on his board, as a girl with green hair pulled out her phone. “I want a picture!” She wailed, as a lanky boy next to her grabbed her arm. “Come on, let’s go. She probably has to go suck some celebrity dick.” 

Gwen rolled her eyes, and walked inside. Maybe she wasn’t as famous as she thought. Kids seemed to hate her, adults didn’t know who she was. What was her demographic? 

When she made it up to her room, it was already 7:03. She had no clue how far David’s apartment was from hers, and was on the verge of tears. Gwen luckily saw all the boxes lined around the living room, which at least meant she had clothes. 

She opened the box nearest to her, and grabbed out a little black dress. She grabbed her heels, and dragged a brush through her hair as she shoved her feet in. Gwen tried her hardest to brush her teeth and apply makeup at the same time, but at one point put the mascara wand in her mouth. 

She grabbed her phone and wallet off the table, and practically ran to the elevator. Gwen had no clue why she was freaking out so much. Why did she suddenly care so much about everything? She checked her phone to see a text from Liam. “have fun on ur date tonight. don’t get chlamydia or anything. xoxo !” Gwen responded with a sharp “fuck u” and hailed a taxi.

“Oh my god! It’s Gwen!” A voice behind her screamed, but she slammed the door to be hidden from the obvious crowd of people that was slowly forming outside. “Hi! Can you take me to west 52nd street?” She asked, as she watched the crowd disappear. Gwen saw the taxi driver nod, and stared at the time on her phone. 7:22. She was freaking out. 

Luckily, David didn’t live too far. Gwen threw the money at the taxi driver, who cursed at her because she forgot to close the door. “Okay, apartment 515. Third floor.” She muttered to herself, racing into the lobby. With her luck, the elevator was out of order. In the corner of her eye, she saw the stairs sign. “Are you fucking kidding me!” Gwen swore, earning her some glares from people in the lobby. She flashed them a smile, and walked over to the stairs. 

After 2 minutes of straight up running, Gwen reached David’s apartment. She felt the sweat forming on her forehead, and panted with every breath. It was 7:34.

Gwen knocked on the door, and was greeted with a scent of cinnamon when it opened. “Hi! You look absolutely beautiful! Stunning, even. Like a movie star!” David babbled, as Gwen felt that twist in her stomach again. She felt like he was just fucking with her now.

“You look handsome.” She stared into David’s gorgeous green eyes for a second. She was in a complete daze. All of the trouble and drama she had just witnessed today seemed to vanish. “Come in! I just have to iron my jacket, and then we can go. You can meet Max!” Gwen bit her lip. She forgot. David had a kid.

“Okay, awesome!” Gwen followed David in, and she began to study his house. It smelled like gingerbread and peach, which was quite a weird mix. The apartment was small, but was nearly put together. Photos were lined on the wall in such a sophisticated manor, and it made Gwen smile to herself. It felt safe.

“Max! Can you come here real quick?” Gwen grabbed her arm, and slowly felt her nails dig into her skin. She had no clue why she was so nervous. Gwen saw the three kids who ran into her not even 30 minutes ago walk in. Her mouth dropped, and so did the three kids. “Kids, this is Grace! Grace, this is Max, Nikki and Neil!” Gwen waved as the boy in the blue hoodie laughed. “Nice, David.” 

David ruffled Max’s hair, who swat David away. “Max is in quite a bit of trouble this week!” Max continued to stare Gwen down, and he leaned up against the couch. “I told you Nikki and Neil weren’t allowed over! You’re grounded!” David spoke, harsh words hidden under a smile. Gwen knew he was upset but still continued to be happy. She wished she could do that. 

David rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Max got suspended this week. For the fourth time already this year.” Gwen pulled at the fabric of her dress. It’s only November. The school year literally started two months ago. “What did you do?” She asked, staring the boy down once again. “I locked a kid in a locker. Also I told him that there is no god, and we all just die.” Gwen gulped. 

“Okay! Maybe you should go back to your room!” David interrupted, obviously flustered. “Oh! I didn’t tell her about the first three times!” Max snarled, pushing David a little. “The first time I spray painted “suck my dick” on the front of the school, then I released a bunch of squirrels I found in Central Park in the hallways and then fought some kid because he made fun of Nik, so there was at least a reason for that one!”

David, bright red, placed his hand over Max’s mouth. “I’ll be right back, Grace! Just give me one second, I don’t want to leave you alone with him any longer!” David disappeared down the hallway as Gwen stared at the floor. “Fuck you, David!” Max spoke under a cough. 

“Also, nice fucking try ‘Grace’! God, I can’t believe that dumbass has no clue who you are!” Gwen looked up from the floor. “Enjoy your date tonight, Gwen. Once David walks back in that door, I’ll make sure that he knows you are.” 

“You guys don’t even know what I do!” The girl with green hair let out a strong ‘ahem’. “I do! I looked you up on Instagram after we saw you!” She pulled her phone out, and showed Gwen. “I can’t believe you have 87 million followers! Isn’t there like, 7 million people on the planet?” The lanky boy pat her back. “Not even close.”

“Okay, kid. What do you want? I’ll give you anything if you don’t tell your dad who am I.” Max stared at the ceiling and counted on his fingers for a second. “He’s not my fucking dad. But one billion dollars.” “Fuck no.” Max shrugged, and gave her a small smirk. “Hey, Davi-“ “20 grand.” Max looked to Nikki and Neil, who shook their heads. “Not enough. Closer to a billion.” Gwen grabbed her checkbook out of her wallet. “Fine. 50 grand.” She filled out the check to ‘Max’ and handed it to him.

“You know you’re an awful influence? You just handed 50,000 dollars to a kid so he wouldn’t rat you out. And people look up to you? I have proof now that literally shows David you’re not this Grace girl he thinks you are.” Gwen grabbed the check off him and crumbled it up. She wrote a new one, still filled out to Max for 80,000 dollars. “Thank you.” He put the check in his hoodie pocket. 

“What are you guys gonna do with that much money?” Gwen asked, suddenly filling with regret. “Well, once David leaves we’ll go to one of those cash to check places, and buy whatever we fucking want.” Gwen rubbed the back of her neck. “Stay safe. And give David a break every once in a while?” 

“Fine.” As on cue, David walked back in the room. “Sorry for the wait! Ready, Grace?” He asked, reaching out for Gwen’s hand. She nodded and latched onto his hand. “Yes.” Max gave Gwen a fake smile. “Have fun tonight, Grace.”

Before she and David walked out of the apartment, she turned around to see Max waving the check around. He stuck his tongue out to show he had he crumpled up check too. 

Gwen just lost 130,000 dollars to an evil little fifteen year old scammer. It was her fault though, she was the one who’s life was starting to feel like a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u for reading! leave some comments and kudos xoxo :)


	5. five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> david and gwen talk, and gwen wonders how she’s gonna manage keeping her identity private.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u guys enjoy this one :)

“So what’s Max like?” Gwen asked, staring at the star-studded city. It was crazy how it continued to shine even as people began to rush home from work. David sighed and tried to avoid running into a man who angrily rushed down the street, but failed. “Watch it, fucker!” The man yelled as David uttered about a million ‘sorry”’s.

“Max is a very interesting.” David cleared her throat, trying to erase the embarrassing run-into he just created. “I used to work at this summer camp in Syracuse because I needed to get hours working with children to get my teaching degree. Max and I grew pretty close, and he’ll never admit it but it seemed that he looked up to me. But when camp ended after the second summer I was working there, Max’s parents didn’t show up. I called child protective services and everything, and they couldn’t find them. I fostered him for three years and then finally adopted him two years later. He’s such a smart and kind kid, but it just takes hard to crack him.” Gwen felt a frown grow over her face. She couldn’t believe David was talking about the kid who manipulated her into giving him a check for 130,000 dollars . 

“That’s awful.” Gwen mumbled, crossing her arms. It was freezing in the city, and it was starting to annoy her. “God if I ever met his parents I don’t know how I would be able to contain myself. It’s just so terrible how someone could do that to an innocent child.” David’s seemingly positive attitude faded talking about Max. It seemed that he cared about the boy so much, and Gwen couldn’t understand why. Max didn’t even cal David dad.

“I’m still trying to get him to let me in a little.” David laughed, sticking his hands into his pockets. “I think being a teenager is hard on him, but I’m glad he has Nikki and Neil. I want him to go to college and be an engineer or a doctor or something. But I won’t force him into anything, of course. I’m not like that. I promise.” David pleaded with Gwen, who just quietly laughed. “He’s got straight a’s, but he has trouble with teachers.” Gwen gave David a soft look. Why did she feel like she was falling for him? She couldn’t be. Gwen figured that all of the men she knew were complete narcissists and could only talk about themselves, but David seemed to passionately care about his son. This made Gwen blush for some reason.

“I was the same exact way in school.” Gwen rubbed the back of her neck. “Were you really?” David questioned. “You would never believe. I was such a problem child. I just knew everything the teachers were teaching and was bored. I’m pretty sure I read a midsummer’s night dream in fifth through eleventh grade.” David let out another laugh. It was the one Gwen heard when she first met him in the bar. The one that made her feel safe.

“Really? I was such a suck up. I used to be so rude until i was like eight. Then I became gosh darn kiss-butt of the year.” Gwen giggled at David’s G-rated language. She thought it was quite cute and endearing. “It was a little hard for me though. My parents fought a lot but my dad and I lost my mom when I was fourteen. Lung cancer. Stage four when she went to the hospital for the first time.” Gwen was ready to stab herself then and there. It was the first date. She did not need to dump her emotional issues on this poor guy. What Gwen was more confused about was how this was the first person she was open about her family issues to. Not Colette and absolutely no one in L.A, so talking about it was quite new for her. She was so used to just restraining herself and keeping it in. 

“That’s so horrible. I’m sorry.” David had concern spelled in his eyes. Gwen wondered if it was that he was thinking he was taking a emotionally broken psycho out to dinner, and that look was purely out of pity. “It’s alright.” Silence filled between them for a moment. “I don’t talk to my parents.” David whispered, voice faint. “They hate me. A lot. I can’t remember what I did them. I used to live in Driggs, Idaho. It was full of trees and nature, I was obsessed with it when I was a kid. I still love it, honestly. I try to take Max camping at least five times a year. It’s been hard since he got older.” Gwen saw David was just staring ahead. His features were highlighted by the lights of times square, and it made Gwen melt. She was listening to what he was saying, but was focused on how confident he was. David constantly had no clue what was going on, but still knew how to keep a conversation going. 

“I wanted to live in New York City for as long as I could remember. You could call it a dream of mine. So when I was seventeen I started filling out applications and eventually made it into Columbia. I told my parents and they kicked me out. They told me if I didn’t want to go to local community college and work at my dad’s stupid car shop, to get out of their house and leave them alone. So I slept in my car until I graduated high school, and drove here. I worked four jobs throughout college, and now I’m here.” Gwen felt absolutely horrible. She always thought her life was bad, but here was this genuinely amazing person who never got anything they deserved. 

“David, I’m so sorry.” David shrugged and plastered another smile on his face. “I just think it’s better to think positive, you know? If they wanted to talk to me, they would call. There’s always people with lives worse than mine, and I always think how great I have it. I have a son, I live in the city I’ve wanted to live in since I was a kid and I have a great job. Besides bartending, but I’ll get out of that soon.” Gwen grabbed David’s hand and squeezed it. “You’re too nice. It really blows my mind how someone as great as you are can exist.” Gwen beamed, trying to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks.

“You probably think I’m crazy dumping all my emotional guilt on you. It’s just the first date. I need to keep reminding myself.” David mused, looking at the line of restaurants that were beginning to show up on the street next to them. “No, it’s totally fine. I’m glad I know some things about you now.” Gwen insisted, smile spreading across her cheeks. “I don’t talk to my dad either. He wasn’t too happy with my career.” Gwen remembered the fight she got into with her father before she moved to Los Angeles. He kept calling her a stupid bitch and how she would never make it, but he ended up being wrong. Gwen doesn’t like to pat herself in the back for that one. 

“It’s weird. Parents know us for a portion of our lives but we know them for all of ours.” David’s eyes still scanned for the restaurant. Gwen wasn’t quite sure what that had to do with the rest of the conversation, still she answered with a “crazy, right?” “Oh! Here we are!” David cheered as Gwen looked at the sign. It was a piano bar, and it seemed quite packed. Gwen was filled with anxiety knowing that she was most likely going to get recognized. She unlatched her hand from David and fixed her hair to cover her face a little, praying to any god that wanted to listen. She did not want her plans to fail already. 

David and Gwen walked down to the host, who was staring at their seating chart. “Hi!” David announced, making the host look up, seemingly pissed off. “Can I help you? We’re kind of booked right now.” David bit his lip. “David. David Pine? Should be for 8:15.” The boat checked his iPad and looked back up. “Actually, it looks like you’ve made a reservation for tomorrow.” David pressed a palm against his head. “Oh my! I had no clue!” The host stared at Gwen, who moved her hair over her face more. “But I guess we can make room.” Gwen sheepishly smiled at the host who returned the favor. Thank god he didn’t make a scene. 

The host led them to their table, which was in the very back of the restaurant. “Here are some menus. Enjoy your meal!” The host waved, and walked away. Gwen looked up to see him and some of the wait staff taking pictures. “This place is amazing. I’m telling you!” David marveled, radiating with pure happiness. Gwen felt her phone vibrate in her jacket pocket. Fuck. “Hey, can you get me a water? I know this is really rude but I’ve got to take this call, it’s my boss.” David smiled at her. “Sure! Take you time, Grace.” Gwen returned with another smile and tried to cover her face as she walked by the wait staff who still were trying to get pictures of her face.

Gwen eventually found the bathroom and pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Hello?” She answered, leaning against the wall. “Gwen?! Where are you right now?” Gwen’s fingers tapped on the back on her phone case as she slowly started to bite at her lip. “I’m with Liam right now at the apartment.” Gwen lied through her teeth, staring directly at the floor. “You’re such a liar! Pictures of you at this club with this redhead are circulating again!”

“Shit.” Gwen mumbled, rubbing circles on her forehead. “Did you tell him?” Colette growled as Gwen felt speechless. She knew she couldn’t lie again, but had such a sudden urge to. “No. He’s too nice!” Colette groaned. “Gwen! You’re making an idiot out of yourself and me. It’s sad, and genuinely really fucked up what you’re doing.” Gwen counted the marble tiles on the floor. 47. There were exactly 47 tiles surrounding Gwen and the current corner she abided in.

“You’re not even listening!” Colette raged as Gwen jumped a little. “Look. I’m filming your shitty movie with your shitty director and her shitty daughter. Stay out of my fucking personal life!” Gwen felt the hot anger rising in her chest. She was supposed to be having fun, but as of right now she just seemed to be getting pissed off. “God! You’re such a baby, Gwen! Also, that ‘shitty movie’ had a cast dinner tonight that you just aren’t at! How does that make me look?!”

“You’re not the one who has to work with these small witted imbeciles for what? Six fucking months?!” Gwen spat, running her fingers through her hair. “If you're lucky! This one might run for eight!” Gwen had reached her breaking point, and felt like she was a burning kettle on a stove. “I’ve got to go. Tell them I didn’t feel well. I’ve gotta get back to my date!” Gwen hung up the phone and held back an angered scream. Right before she left, she heard a stall door open. “Fuck.” She mumbled under her breath. Gwen was nearly positive she was alone.

A young girl who looked about twelve turned the corner, wielding her iphone. “Are you Gwen!?!” She yelled, running up to Gwen and hugging her. “Yes. Hello!” Gwen smiled, not even acknowledging if it was not her, this girl would be hugging a stranger. Basically, she still was in a way. “Oh my god! It’s so great to meet you!” Gwen smiled and patted to girls back. “Can I show you to my sister outside? She loves your music!” Gwen knew that tonight was going too swimmingly. There wasn’t a doubt that this young girl was going to be her exposeé.

“Actually! I have a very important manager here who told me that if any fans ask for pictures tonight, then I won’t be able to drop music anymore.” It hurt Gwen to know that she wasn’t a liar before she moved to New York City. It hurt to remember that she grew up thinking it was morally wrong. It was starting to seem her life was turning into one huge lie. “I am so sorry! Does he know you’re in here?” Gwen remembered David, who probably thinks Gwen dipped and went someone else. “Yes! But here is something for you! Thank you for listening to my music!” Gwen popped the case off her phone and took $40 out of her emergency fund. She couldn’t believe her newest hobby was bribing teenagers. 

“You’re my idol, Gwen!” The little girl squealed waving the money around, as Gwen smiled. That word killed her. Idol. She basically just used hush money on a young impressionable mind, who afterwards called her their idol. Gwen exited the bathroom to see David who was having a full conversation with their waiter. He seemed older, so Gwen prayed that he also had no clue who she was. “Hey! Is everything okay?” David asked, as the waiter disappeared. “Yes! She just had a question about the design of the house.” 

David let out a soft ‘aw.’ Gwen stared at the little girl who had been seated to the far left of them. She smiled at Gwen and continued talking to what looked like her older sister. She was wearing one of Gwen’s necklaces that they sold in local music stores, which made Gwen feel sick. She didn’t deserve to be famous. She didn’t deserve to be called someone’s idol. She didn’t deserve to live-

“Hey. I got a bottle of cupcake prosecco? How about I fill up your glass?” David interrupted Gwen’s train of negative thought. He gave Gwen a sweet smile and gestured the bottle in his hands. Gwen nodded and watched as David shakily filled up the wine glass. His tongue was positioned on his lips a little back, his face plagued with concentration. Gwen realized in that moment that David was probably the most adorable person she’s ever met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank u for reading! kudos n comments are v much appreciated xoxo


End file.
